Chapter 23: Thousands of Years Old Message

James then started to inspect the various machines in front of him. He dealt a lot with data storage machines back at the base, as he was trying to learn any info he could get his hands on, but in front of these old tech, he felt ignorance.

He tried to pass the time by pressing over some buttons that felt familiar, but he didn't get the result he wanted. After quite some time, he managed to open some old records, a record which played over the same floating screen in front of James.

An old looking man with white hair and a domineering look appeared suddenly on the screen. James didn't notice that at first as he kept pressing some other buttons trying to get any result. The voice of this man startled James and made him stop what he was doing, as he focused entirely over this old man.

"The universe is vast, and every day we discover many new things in it. I tend to believe that my great ancestors couldn't imagine how difficult it is to be part of this universe.

After all these countless years, man now still stands on the verge of complete destruction, the same situation we were at since the early days of our creation. When I said these words to my colleagues, friends, and my trusted aides they thought me crazy.

When I changed the imperial system into a republic system they also thought I lost my mind. Maybe the immanent crisis that fell upon us that day had saved my life, temporarily. I knew who you are, that oracle had told me all about you. You are James, right?"

Suddenly James' body froze as his mind went blank from shock, he already guessed the identity of this man, he was the last supreme leader of Rojedia. James couldn't help himself but ask loudly:

"Can you see me? Did you hear my talk with Rigo just now?"

"Of course, you will have many doubts right now, and might be also afraid. How can I tell and I'm sending you this message from a couple of millennia ago, I don't know what the universe is like at your time, but I hope it's not that bad… yet."

James muttered:

"Old man, you scare me now, how did you manage to even know my name? Or even know it was me?"

"The oracle told me a lot about you, about your name, your past life, and the circumstances that drove you to come here. She told me as well how important this moment is, not just for your life, but for all the lives in the universe.

So, James, my son, I know you might feel great panic right now, and that's normal. I can't imagine what you are thinking about, but if it was me, I would be confused and afraid."

"Yes, I'm feeling exactly like this old man," James muttered as he was trying to comprehend how a dead person over thousands of years had known about his presence here and learnt his name.

"Listen to me very carefully, James, and try to remember each word I will say, as this message will be self erased after it ends. The oracle told me about your presence in this abandoned planet, so I ordered my finest troops to come here and wait for you.

They are droids that I selected personally, very expert at warfare and had long experience at fighting, so they will be your best help in the upcoming war. I don't know what you will decide about Dora, but I hope you decide to help her, if not, then I urge you to reconsider this option.

Dora's life is very important, as she is the key, the key to everything. Without the help of this daughter, you can't defeat your greatest enemy and you will lose.

She is your light in the darkness, so don't let her die. The Immortal mustn't have her life here, and you need to be careful of him, as he is your greatest enemy ever."

James suddenly felt fear far greater than before when he heard these words. That nasty murdered Immortal who took a direct hit from Dora's gun and still survived was his enemy. James tried to recall when he ever offended such a foe with no avail, just to be interrupted by the old man's voice:

"Don't try thinking about the reason behind all this, as the oracle told me you will know everything soon enough, so focus on the upcoming war and try to save Dora and yourself.

Regarding the targets of this Immortal, those poor children, you can decide for yourself if you want to save them or not. Our oracle said you are destined to be our greatest savor if you survived this ordeal, so I hope you can survive it, or everything will be lost. Take good care of yourself son, and try to stay alive."

James watched the screen go blank as he heard a faint muffled sound coming from one of these big machines. James stood in his place motionless thinking about what just happened.

He didn't know if this was real or some kind of a silly joke, but why would a man leave a joke thousands of years ago for him? Why did he know his name? And how?

Many questions began to rise in his head like stinging needles, he looked around to find an old fashioned chair so he sat over it. James held his head with both of his hands as he felt an excruciating headache in it.

If he didn't experience something abnormal back at the base, he would have thought this man was joking. Too much coincidences meant no coincidence at all.

Everything was set in place on purpose, this ship was here on purpose, he came here on this planet on purpose, and his meeting with Eli then Dora was on purpose. James suddenly remembered Eli, that old man didn't say anything about her, but he recalled that man warning.

So, he started to recall the message over and over again, to feel some strange feeling about the last part regarding Dora.